Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016 — 31
Why new generation products dazzle heightened functionalities Stories by Prince Osuagwu
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OBILE devices maker, LG Electronics has confirmed that the boom in smartphone technology has resulted in products that are more advanced but has also gone a long way in producing devices that are cheaper and more accessible to consumers across the globe. This is even as the capabilities and global reach of smartphones have revolutionized society, making it easier than ever to connect with people across the world. However, despite the highest global sales ever, smartphone returns in the developed world have started to falter as many analysts anticipate a seismic shift in the market. A recent report from Ericsson ConsumerLab made headlines across the globe when it predicted that smartphones would disappear by 2021. The survey of over 100,000 consumers in 40 countries found that many believed that the smartphone as a platform had hit its peak, and that the door was open for artificial intelligence, the next generation of wearables and emerging technologies to take over as the standard bearers of smart technology. But LG believes that while these predictions are far from certain, the trends that inspired them are already influencing innovation in smart technology. With a product lineup that already includes powerful PCs and rapidly-improving wearables, LG says it is well poised to •Base stations take advantage of the upcoming changes in the smartphone market. It says that with its exciting rollable screen prototypes it has the ability to breathe new life into smartphones in the near future. General Manager, Mobile Communication division, LG Electronics
How Technology can grow Nigeria’s insurance industry By Laju Iren
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latest smartphone innovations
West Africa, Mr. Steve Seungeui Lee said that “since the smartphone was first introduced, the screen has remained essentially the same. Although the size, quality and durability of smartphone screens have all improved dramatically over the past ten years, the underlying technology that powers the screen remains essentially the same outside of a few niche curved phones. Consumers have grown tired of the smartphone’s rigid screen and now
s e e k something that is more adaptable and user friendly. The current crop of smartphones (such as the LG V10) represents the height of smartphone display technology. The V10 boasts an innovative second screen in addition to its 5.7-inch QHD main display that can be used for app shortcuts, or instant updates. However, this might not be enough to save the smartphone display as we know it. Great strides have been made in high tech rollable OLED displays that promise to bring new flexibility to the smartphone” he added.
More base stations'll deepen Internet penetration – Spectranet
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AJOR Internet Services Provider, ISP, Spectranet says it deploys over 50 base stations every month across the country to ensure standard reception of services by numerous subscribers. The company said this was following realisation that with the rate subscribers were demanding for its services, the 20MGz capacity the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC allotted it from the 2.3GHz spectrum may not be enough for to provide robust services that will give subscribers value for money At the moment, the service provider says it has over 300 base stations in Lagos, over 150 base stations in Abuja among others and is awaiting more than 150 units already imported but yet to land the shores of the country. Chief executive officer of Spectranet, David Venn, said his company was building on the capacity of the network just as it was also spreading its tentacles across the country. “Today we are building on the capacity of the network just as we are spreading into other geo political zones of the country. We have just Portharcourt to Abuja and Lagos bases. “Yes we need more spectrum to add to the 20 MHz in the 2.3GHz spectrum we are currently assigned to. But we also realized that because of increase of capacity we either get more spectrum or we build more base stations. Now that the government is yet to auction a new spectrum at the moment, we started building more base stations. We have 300 base stations in Lagos, 150 in Abuja and we have more than 150 on the high sea coming in now. We are putting at least 50 base stations in a month because we realize that new cities are springing up on daily basis in the country. “We are talking to netflix so that our users can use video services on the platform without putting much weight on our network. Netflix is a video company where users register and pay a token monthly to be able to watch videos on the internet. We are linking on almost all the submarine cable operators in the country like MainOne, GloOne, WACS” he added .
AppZone exposes SMEs to global market with Tradeport
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By Laju Iren
NE of the setbacks Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs always have is inability to showcase products to the global market. But in recent times, that is also becoming history as technology continues to narrow the gap, blot out the lines between the developed and developing economies and make the world a global village. As such, the global market gradually ceases to be the exclusive preserve of the developed economies. With innovative technological solutions, the local farmer can now attract a foreign buyer for his products and the hitherto small
businesses now have the opportunity to spread wares where otherwise large corporations showcase theirs. All these would not have been possible without innovations like TradePort; a web storefront solution developed by Nigerian software company, AppZone to offer merchants the opportunity to automate all of their business processes.Tradeport manages the business operations of the Retailers on its platform hence, enabling banks to get up to date financial operations data of each retailer for easier loan qualification assessment and targeted marketing. Tradeport allows merchants own a website to sell their products at no extra cost. This merchant website, once
activated, is integrated to the back office solution and directly impacts on the merchant’s inventory and financial accounting. AppZone, provides home-grown software solutions for the financial services industry. Key features of Tradeport include core sales process automation and inventory management, automated financial accounting and IFRS compliant reporting, flexible user-customizable web store front complete with payment gateway and courier service provider integration, Bank account management and electronic payment and many more. According to AppZone, those who adopt the Tradeport solution enjoy
ANAGING Director of data centre company, Rack Centre, Mr.Ayotunde Coker, has advised insurance executives on the need to leverage on technology to meet the rising expectations of their clients for the anticipated growth in the Insurance Industry. Coker at a Lagos seminar organised by the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) for Insurance Industry Chief InformationOfficers (CIOs) said, the banking industry would not have grown to what it is at the moment without technology integration. He noted that the Insurance industry currently has much opportunity for growth and coupled with current data explosion in the country, the sector has to maximize that growth with the aid of technology. Coker, who was a former CIO of a leading Nigerian bank and UK Government, said that more benefits will come to the sector should there be a policy directive by the regulatory authorities towards high customer drive but added that those who would cope with that demand are those who have integrated technology into their systems of operation Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Sales and Distribution of Wapic Insurance Plc, Mr. Bode Ojeniyi, agreed with him, regretting that the Nigerian Insurance Industry was still characterised by paper work and needs to move to an era where technology could aid customer services. Also, the CIO of Guinea Insurance, Mr. Audu Oladokun, in his own contribution said that from a personal experience, the application of technology, was able to raise his company’s customer base by 3, 500 within a space of few months.
numerous benefits such as real-time, anywhere visibility and monitoring of operations, improved customer reach through access to previously unreachable online customers, access to world class technology at low initial and on-going cost, enhanced control and tracking of product pricing, sales, and cash collections and ability to achieve low cost and seamless card payment acceptance. By integrating directly to payment terminals and linking sales orders to payment transactions, TradePort affords retail merchants easy reconciliation of card payments and helps them trace each successful payment to its corresponding credit entry in the Bank statement.